The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will hold a June 4 public hearing on the budget, giving residents a chance to voice their opinions on changes to the tax rate and government spending.
The plan they’re considering for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which begins July 1, calls for raising the property-tax rate by roughly 15 percent. Drafted by County Manager Wanda Greene, she blames the sputtering economy, a drop in property values, increased funding requests and unfunded federal mandates for the change.
See more details of the budget proposal here.
In addition, the commissioners will hold a special June 4 workshop to consider Buncombe County capital projects.
Greene’s 2014 budget plan calls for spending $18 million on a new building for Isaac Dickson Elementary school. Her long-range plan also calls for constructing a new building for Asheville Middle School, with construction beginning in 2016 at a cost of $40 million.
Major projects proposed in upcoming years also include a $30 million aquatics facility, a $3.4 million upgrade to Lake Julian Park, $1 million towards implementing the Greenways Master Plan, and more than $5 million in upgrades to county libraries.
The capital project workshop will be held in room 316 at 200 College St., beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The public hearing on the budget will be held in room 326 at 200 College St., beginning at 4:30 p.m. A short pre-meeting review of the agenda will begin at 4:15 p.m.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.